Dayhoff Soundtrack: History 2007 Yr in Review

Fortunately, this year in “The War on Christmas,” no overwhelming weapons of mass Christmas destruction have materialized and it appears that Christmas is winning. And that’s a good thing.

December 12, 2007

The Writers Strike and Christmas

Kevin E. Dayhoff

For those who are fans of early television, especially old Christmas movies and holiday specials, the strike by The Writers Guild of America, which began November 5, may have a temporary silver lining.

December 7, 2007

Operation Christmas Tree

Kevin E. Dayhoff

How do you ship 5,000 two-foot live Christmas trees to a war zone? Early last Saturday morning over 300 volunteers figured it out as they braved the wind and cold and turned out for “Operation Christmas Tree” at the Carroll County Agriculture Center.

December 5, 2007

The President and Community Initiatives

Kevin E. Dayhoff

To commemorate World AIDS Day last Friday, President George W. Bush and his wife Laura met with representatives of faith-based groups in a roundtable discussion at Calvary United Methodist Church in Mount Airy.

November 29, 2007

What a Difference a Year Makes – Part 2

Kevin E. Dayhoff

In yesterday’s column I wrote that with the passage of this tax package by the General Assembly, there are now more than ever two Marylands: a rural Maryland that exists to provide quality of life and common sense for the other Maryland – the urbanized areas where reason and common sense have taken a holiday.

November 28, 2007

What a Difference a Year Makes – Part 1

Kevin E. Dayhoff

The ink had hardly dried on Gov. Martin O’Malley’s signature on November 19 when the peripatetic gerbils powering the Maryland media spin machines went into high gear.

November 21, 2007

Taxarians at the Gate

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Happy Thanksgiving. We have so many things for which to be thankful. The first of which is our men and women in uniform who continue to perform admirably in difficult circumstances.

November 14, 2007

Frederick and The Geography of Nowhere

Kevin E. Dayhoff

The alarm has been sounded, “Starbucks is coming. Starbucks is coming.” No word yet as to whether or not a “coffee party” has been organized to dump coffee grounds into Carroll Creek.

November 11, 2007

Veterans Day: “The Wall” at 25

Kevin E. Dayhoff

This year Veterans Day is also the 25th anniversary of the dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, in Constitution Gardens adjacent to the National Mall in Washington. The Memorial, well known as “The Wall,” was dedicated November 13, 1982.

November 7, 2007

The Ever Green Fund

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Last Friday, the House Environmental Matters Committee in the Maryland General Assembly held a hearing on House Bill 23, the “Maryland Green Fund.”

October 31, 2007

Trick or Treat

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Happy Halloween! Of course, for Marylanders, Halloween came early this year when Gov. Martin O'Malley appeared Monday evening before a joint session of Maryland General Assembly with a very big trick or treat bag.

October 24, 2007

Blackwater USA

Kevin E. Dayhoff

The founder of Blackwater USA, Erik Prince, is famous for being media averse. However in the last year, especially since the Democratic Party achieved majority status in the United States Congress, Mr. Prince's name is slowly becoming a household word.

October 17, 2007

The Shipwreck Known as SCHIP

Kevin E. Dayhoff

In 1997 the Republican controlled Congress enacted the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) - a joint federal and state government initiative that provides low-cost health insurance for children of lower income families.

October 10, 2007

Citizen-Soldier Awarded Bronze Star

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Many of us are extremely proud to learn that Command Sergeant Major Tom Beyard, formerly of Hagerstown, was awarded the Bronze Star in a recent ceremony at the Task Force Aviation Classification Repair Activity Depot in Kuwait.

October 3, 2007

It all began with President Harry Truman

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Sixty years ago, on October 5, 1947, an American president delivered a speech live on television.

September 26, 2007

The Priceless Right to Free Speech

Kevin E. Dayhoff

It has certainly been an interesting week for the exercise of our sacred right to freedom of speech in the United States. Various recent developments in this most cherished of rights provided a rich target environment for the news media, constitutional scholars, and pundits alike.

September 19, 2007

Iraq: Into the Heart of Darkness

Kevin E. Dayhoff

For those who have grown weary of the longest presidential campaign in history and the war in Iraq, last week was long and bewildering.

September 12, 2007

Jack Molesworth touched many lives

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Jack Molesworth as FHS coach

Ever since John E. "Jack" Molesworth, 80, a Western Maryland College graduate, accomplished Frederick and Carroll County area football coach and educator, died August 31 at Frederick Memorial Hospital from injuries from a fall, accolades and tributes have poured in from community leaders about the life accomplishments of this great man.

September 5, 2007

Mount Airy: The Little Town That Could

Kevin E. Dayhoff

In the early morning hours of last Sunday, the town of Mount Airy was rudely awakened just past 4 A.M. to a three-alarm fire. Hardly anything strikes fear in the heart of a community as does a major fire.

August 29, 2007

"The Crocodile Dundee Factor"

Kevin E. Dayhoff

September 15 is fast approaching. That's when Gen. David H. Petraeus will give his report to Congress on the progress in the war in Iraq.

August 22, 2007

Edward Hopper: Poet of the ordinary

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Edward Hopper's "Nighthawks," 1942, oil on canvas, depicts a voyeuristic portrayal of ambiguous urban alienation and impersonalization as three customers and a soda jerk spend time together in the harsh glare of artificial light in the middle of the night.

The voyeuristic stark world of American Scene realist artist Edward Hopper was recently displayed at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

August 15, 2007

The Subprime Mortgage Mania Mess

Kevin E. Dayhoff

After several weeks of Wall Street volatility, it appears that the market has hopefully finally exhaled and calmed down.

August 8, 2007

Playing Chess with God

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Last week the world of cinematography lost two of its great artisans in one day. On July 30 Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman and Italian modernist film director Michelangelo Antonioni passed away.

August 1, 2007

"They don't know what we did"

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Forty years ago local and national newspaper headlines leaped ominously from the page as Cambridge, Maryland, erupted in fire and violence.

July 25, 2007

Viva la bicyclette!

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Today, as you are reading this, over in France and a small portion of Spain, the 94th Tour de France is in Stage 16.

July 18, 2007

Lady Bird Johnson - Steel Magnolia

Kevin E. Dayhoff

A week ago today, Lady Bird Johnson, the celebrated wife of former President Lyndon Baines Johnson, passed away at age 94.

July 11, 2007

"90 Seconds"

Kevin E. Dayhoff

It was nothing short of cruel irony that I happened to be on a guided tour of the United States Military Academy at West Point on the very day The New York Times editorialized for the United States to unconditionally surrender in Iraq. It was this past Sunday.

July 4, 2007

Happy Fourth of July

Kevin E. Dayhoff

As we spend time with friends and family to celebrate the Fourth of July today, take a moment to ponder just how fortunate we really are in our great nation.

June 27, 2007

Striking a Blow for Free Speech

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Many are singing high praise of the Supreme Court's decision handed down Monday which took a bite out of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform law.

June 20, 2007

Earmarks: A Bridge to Bankruptcy

Kevin E. Dayhoff

After months of bitter fighting, the surge on "earmarks," our own homegrown version of economic terrorism, continues to meet stiff resistance.

June 13, 2007

The Fragging of Gen. Peter Pace

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced last Friday that he will recommend Adm. Mike Mullen, the current chief of naval operations to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff - and not Gen. Peter Pace.

June 6, 2007

Tomorrow's Leaders Today

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Graduation season is upon us and this is the time many of us get some emersion exposure in the values and attitudes of our youngest generation, who are about to assume future leadership positions.

May 30, 2007

A Pain in the Gas

Kevin E. Dayhoff

With the Memorial Day weekend behind us, so begins the summer driving season. Increasingly a critical part of the summer getaway calculus is congested roadways and the cost of gasoline.

May 28, 2007

The Silence of Joseph W. Blickenstaff

Kevin E. Dayhoff

For many people, Memorial Day marks the beginning of summer. But hopefully you will take time out today to remember the greater meaning of Memorial Day - especially at a time when our great nation has more than 253,000 men and women in uniform deployed away from their families and loved ones - in nearly 80 countries oversees.

May 23, 2007

Gates Encourages Public Service

Kevin E. Dayhoff

In his keynote graduation address Sunday, U. S. Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates challenged the 2007 graduates of the College of William and Mary to serve the greater good of the nation by voting, volunteering, and participating in public service.

May 16, 2007

Hate Crimes' Slippery Slope

Kevin E. Dayhoff

On May 3rd the U. S. House of Representatives voted 237 to 180 to pass H.R. 1592, the "Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act."

May 9, 2007

Déjà Vu, All Over Again

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Our Congress is embarking on yet another curious and quixotic adventure, almost like the movie "Ground Hog Day." This time it is again delving into a perilous journey to develop a cogent approach to immigration reform.

May 2, 2007

The Legacy of Whittaker Chambers

Kevin E. Dayhoff

On Monday evening, a tragic fire destroyed a circa-1850 barn on the historic Whittaker Chambers "Pumpkin Patch" farm just north or Westminster in Carroll County.

April 25, 2007

Boris Yeltsin, Dead at 76

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Best known for standing on a tank in the middle of Moscow and almost single-handedly defying a coup in 1991, Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin is the same person who just two years earlier had fished himself out of a river clad only in his underwear.

April 18, 2007

One Who Listens

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Demonstrators recently gathered at Congressman Roscoe Bartlett's Frederick office to theatrically illustrate their unhappiness over his vote on the emergency Iraq and Afghanistan supplemental funding legislation.

April 11, 2007

Press' Grand Dame Coming to McDaniel

Kevin E. Dayhoff

A curmudgeon without peer, a celebrated author, a reporter who covered the White House through nine presidents, and now a columnist with the Hearst organization, Helen Thomas could easily be called the press' grand dame.

April 4, 2007

Dems declare war on Mormon Crickets

Kevin E. Dayhoff

As a result of the Democrats' quick action in Congress in the last few weeks, Americans may soon rest easy in the knowledge that we will be saved from the true terrorists in our world today - Mormon crickets.

March 28, 2007

Diminished By Their Passing

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Conservative political commentator Cathy Seipp passed away a week ago at the far-too-young-age of 49. In a cruel irony, a non-smoker, she died of lung cancer after a five-year battle with the disease.

March 21, 2007

Crossing the River - Together

Kevin E. Dayhoff

At 2 o'clock on March 23, 1642, in "St. Maries," now known as St. Mary's City, Mathius de Sousa took his seat in the Maryland General Assembly along with Leonard Calvert, the first governor of Maryland, and 37 other distinguished gentlemen.

March 14, 2007

Bowling Brook: A Sad Tale

Kevin E. Dayhoff

On January 23 one of the very young men that Bowling Brook Preparatory Academy had tried so hard to mold into a lifetime of hope and a future, 17-year-old Isaiah Simmons III, died at the school.

March 7, 2007

Who is Leonard Peltier?

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Among all the recent breaking news as to who is the real father of Anna Nicole Smith's baby and Britney Spears' latest hairdo and tattoo, presidential hopefuls Sen. Barack Obama, of Illinois, and Sen. Hillary Clinton, of New York, erupted into a major food fight of kindergarten proportions.

February 28, 2007

"Remember the Maine"

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Essentially unnoticed a couple of weeks ago was the anniversary of a dark day in American history that in its day was considered by our great grandparents as horrific as Pearl Harbor or 9/11.

February 21, 2007

Hanlon's Razor

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Last Friday and Saturday, the Democrats in Congress took another step in a desperate attempt to assure our defeat in Iraq and ultimately threaten our national security at home.

February 14, 2007

Gauging A Presidential Legacy

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Recently political pundits have spent a great deal of effort pondering the legacy of President George W. Bush. Of course, those of us who consider ourselves to be students of history understand that history needs much more time and distance in order to accurately gauge the legacy and historical impact of any particular president.

February 12, 2007

The Great Maryland Electric War

Kevin E. Dayhoff

With a Democratic governor in the statehouse, Ken Schisler out of the way, and the proposed merger of Constellation Energy and Florida Light and Power stopped, it would appear that the Democrat controlled Maryland General Assembly has succeeded with most of its election goals from last year's gubernatorial contest.

February 7, 2007

The Electrocution of Ken Schisler

Kevin E. Dayhoff

On January 29 Public Service Commission Chairman Ken Schisler resigned. Appointed just after the Ehrlich administration moved into the second floor of the statehouse, Mr. Schisler decided not to serve the remaining year of his five-year term.

January 31, 2007

Who was Deborah Orin-Eilbeck?

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Last Saturday, the New York Post's Washington bureau chief, Deborah Orin-Eilbeck, passed away. Published accounts noted that she died at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center of stomach cancer.

January 24, 2007

The State of the Union Address

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Perhaps not since Matt Drudge broke the Monica Lewinsky scandal a couple of days before President Bill Clinton's State of the Union address in January 1998 has there been such an anticipated annual address by an American president.

January 17, 2007

"NUTS!"

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Last Thursday President George W. Bush addressed the nation with his long awaited "New Way Forward in Iraq."

January 10, 2007

"A Message to Speaker Pelosi"

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Last Wednesday our nation witnessed an historic first when California Rep. Nancy Pelosi was elected to be the first woman Speaker of the House of Representatives.

January 3, 2007

Castro Watch

Kevin E. Dayhoff

We have many things to look forward to in 2007 and certainly at the top of the list is the eventual demise of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.

20071231 The Tentacle year in review: Tentacle columns by Kevin E. Dayhoff in 2007

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

20071217 Best Notable Quotables of 2007

"Best Notable Quotables of 2007, the Twentieth Annual Awards for the Year's Worst Reporting"

***Media Research Center CyberAlert Special***

1:30pm EST, Monday December 17, 2007

Now Online: Results for the "Best Notable Quotables of 2007, the

Twentieth Annual Awards for the Year's Worst Reporting"

The results are in for the "Best Notable Quotables of 2007, the

Twentieth Annual Awards for the Year's Worst Reporting." A panel of

52 leading media observers judged 17 award categories and the winning

quotes and top runners-up have been posted on the MRC's home page,

with the quotes from television accompanied by click-and-play Flash

video, as well as downloadable Windows Media video and MP3 audio

clip.

Check: http://www.mrc.org/

Last week we tabulated the votes and squeezed as many quotes as

we could into the eight-page hard copy version. It went off to the

printer on Wednesday night. A press release announcing the results

went out this morning.

The direct address:

http://www.mrc.org/notablequotables/bestof/2007/welcome.asp

You'll also see a link to an Adobe Acrobat PDF that matches the

eight-page hard copy version. Direct address for the PDF:

http://www.mrc.org/notablequotables/bestof/2007/BestofNQ2007.pdf

For the list of judges, who were generous with their time (list

is also lower in this e-mail):

http://www.mrc.org/notablequotables/bestof/2007/categories/judges.asp

Between Christmas and New Year's Day I'll distribute the text of

all the winners and runners-up, but for now you'll have to go online

to learn the results.

> The 17 award categories:

- Blue State Brigade Award for Campaign Reporting

- Damn Those Conservatives Award

- Good Morning Morons Award

- Dynamic Duo Award for Idolizing Bill and Hillary

- Madness of King George Award

- Tin Foil Hat Award for Crazy Conspiracy Theories

- America Makes Us Sick Award

- Media Hero Award

- Politics of Meaninglessness Award for Silliest Analysis

- Channeling the Nut Roots Award

- Media Millionaires for Higher Taxes

- O Great Goreacle Award

- Barbra Streisand Political IQ Award for Celebrity Vapidity

- Perky Princess Award for Katie's Cutesy Comments

- Drive By Media Award for Shooting at the Competition

- Not Biased Enough Award

- Quote of the Year

> The judges:

- Lee Anderson, Associate Publisher and Editor, Chattanooga Times

Free Press

- Chuck Asay, editorial cartoonist via the Creators Syndicate

- Brent H. Baker, MRC's Vice President for Research and Publications;

Editor of CyberAlert and Editor the NewsBusters blog

- Mark Belling, radio talk show host, WISN-AM in Milwaukee

- Neal Boortz, nationally syndicated radio talk show host

- L. Brent Bozell III, President of the Media Research Center and

author of Whitewash: What the Media Won't Tell You About Hillary

Clinton, But Conservatives Will

- Priscilla Buckley, Contributing Editor for National Review

- Bill Cotterell, political editor at the Tallahassee Democrat

- Blanquita Cullum, Podjockey.com

- Bill Cunningham, nationally syndicated radio talk show host from

WLW in Cincinnati

- Midge Decter, author, member of the Heritage Foundation's Board of Trustees

- Bob Dutko, radio talk show host, WMUZ-FM in Detroit

- Jim Eason, retired radio talk show host

- Don Feder, former Boston Herald columnist; author, media consultant

at Don Feder & Associates

- Eric Fettmann, Associate Editorial Page Editor, New York Post

- Ed Flynn, radio talk host on WATR in Waterbury, CT

- Michael Graham, radio talk show host on WTKK in Boston and Boston

Herald columnist

- Tim Graham, Director of Media Analysis, Media Research Center;

Senior Editor of the NewsBusters blog

- Steven Greenhut, senior editorial writer and columnist, Orange

County Register

- Kirk Healy, Executive Producer, WDBO Radio in Orlando

-Quin Hillyer, Senior Editor, The American Spectator

- Fred Honsberger, radio talk show host, Newsradio 1020 KDKA in Pittsburgh

- Jeff Jacoby, columnist for the Boston Globe

- Marie Kaigler, mass media and developmental consultant, Detroit

- Cliff Kincaid, Editor, Accuracy in Media

- Mark Larson, Program Director and talk show host on San Diego 1700 AM

- Mark Levin, nationally syndicated radio talk show host

- Jason Lewis, talk show host, 100.3 KTLK-FM in Minneapolis

- Kathryn Jean Lopez, Editor of National Review Online

- Brian Maloney, radio analyst, creator of The RadioEqualizer blog

- Steve Malzberg, nationally syndicated talk show host from WOR in

New York City

- Patrick McGuigan, Contributing Editor, The City Sentinel in

Oklahoma City

- Colin McNickle, Editorial Page Editor, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

- Joe McQuaid, Publisher, New Hampshire Union Leader

- Paul Mirengoff, co-author of PowerLine blog

- Robert D. Novak, syndicated columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times;

author of The Prince of Darkness: 50 Years Reporting in Washington

- Rich Noyes, Director of Research, Media Research Center; Senior

Editor of the NewsBusters blog

- Henry Payne, editorial cartoonist, The Detroit News

- Wladyslaw Pleszczynski, Editorial Director, The American Spectator

- Michael Reagan, nationally syndicated radio talk show host

- Chris Reed, editorial writer, San Diego Union-Tribune

- Mike Rosen, radio talk show host, KOA in Denver; columnist for the

Rocky Mountain News

- William A. Rusher, Distinguished Fellow, Claremont Institute;

syndicated columnist

- Matthew Sheffield, Executive Editor of NewsBusters, the MRC's blog

- James Taranto, Editor of OpinionJournal.com

- Philip Terzian, Literary Editor for The Weekly Standard

- Cal Thomas, syndicated columnist; panelist on FNC's Fox News Watch

- Chris Warden, Assistant Professor of Journalism, Troy University

- Clay Waters, Editor of the MRC's TimesWatch.org

- Walter E. Williams, economics professor, George Mason University

- Thomas S. Winter, Editor-in-Chief of Human Events

- Martha Zoller, radio talk show host for WDUN in Gainseville, GA

For links to Web pages for the judges:

http://www.mrc.org/notablequotables/bestof/2007/categories/judges.asp

- Brent Baker

Check Out the MRC's Blog

The MRC's blog site, NewsBusters, "Exposing and Combating Liberal Media Bias," provides examples of bias 24/7. With your participation NewsBusters will continue to be THE blog site for tracking and correcting liberal media bias. Come post your comments and get fresh proof of media misdeeds at: http://www.newsbusters.org

Monday, December 17, 2007

20071216 The Media’s Top 10 Economic Myths of 2007

The Media’s Top 10 Economic Myths of 2007

Compiled by the Business & Media Institute

See Full Report

Don’t believe the hype! To get the truth, visit www.businessandmedia.org

10. Airlines are solely to blame for the unfriendly skies.
Media myth: Blame the airlines for all those flight delays; never mind the obsolete government-run agency creating the gridlock.

9. Consumer spending is the be-all, end-all of the economy.
Media myth: Without excessive consumer spending – especially at Christmastime – the U.S. economy will collapse.

8. The stock market is trouble, whether it goes up or down.
Media myth: One day the stock market can’t sustain growth; the next, we’re just one drop away from another crash.

7. Anyone who ‘denies’ global warming shouldn’t be taken seriously.
Media myth: Global warming could cause a ‘century of fires,’ just as it has created allergies and ended winter fashion. If we don’t do something now (i.e. spend hundreds of billions of dollars), it’s only going to get worse.

6. You’d better not eat/drink that!
Media myth: Forget the right to eat as you please; the nanny-state knows better.

5. Most Americans are losing their homes.
Media myth: Americans everywhere are losing their homes to foreclosure, and the housing bust is going to ruin the economy.

4. “Going Green” is good for America and business.
Media myth: Businesses are much better off if they go green, and that’s what people really want anyway.

3. Lenders are responsible for everyone’s debts.
Media myth: Drowning in red ink isn’t your fault; blame the guy who loaned you the money.

2. Free health care would be great!
Media myth: To save our children and the 47 million uninsured Americans, and to keep up with the rest of the world, we must have government-run health care.

1. The U.S. Economy is in recession.
Media myth: The U.S. economy is nearly in, or is in, a recession.

####

Sunday, January 07, 2007

20070106 Fidel Castro says he "remains in the loop"

Fidel Castro says he "remains in the loop"

31 December, 2006 – January 6th, 2007

My January 3rd, 2007 Tentacle column is on US relations with Cuba and South America in the coming year – 2007. Please find it here:

Castro Watch, by Kevin E. Dayhoff, Wednesday, January 3rd, 2007”
We have many things to look forward to in 2007 and certainly at the top of the list is the eventual demise of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.

Read the rest here. I’d love some feedback… I have, in the past, done a great deal of research on Cuban-American relations and I plan to re-visit much of my research, brush it, break it down into bite-size and write about it, in the coming months.

Meanwhile, the BBC is carrying an article about Cuban President Castro’s New Year’s message…

http://www.bbc.co.uk/caribbean/news/story/2006/12/061231_fidelmessage.shtml

Photo from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/images/2006/12/20061226161704_42389181_castro_afp203body.jpg

According to the BBC on December 31, 2006, Fidel Castro says he “remains in the loop:” “Castro issues New Year's message - In his New Year message, ailing Cuban President Fidel Castro has said he is recovering slowly from his surgery.”

Fidel Castro says he "remains in the loop"

Castro issues New Year's message

31 December, 2006 - Published 19:12 GMT

In his New Year message, ailing Cuban President Fidel Castro has said he is recovering slowly from his surgery.

"Concerning my recovery I always said it would be a long process," he said in the written message, read out by announcers on state-controlled media.

"But it is far from being a lost battle," he added.

Read the rest here.

The 80-year-old leader handed over control of the country to his brother Raul in July, when he underwent urgent intestinal surgery.

President Castro traditionally sends a message broadcast by state TV and radio to Cubans on New Year's Eve to mark the anniversary of the 1 January 1959 revolution that brought him to power.

"I have not stopped being in the loop on main events and information.

"I have had exchanges with our closest comrades always when co-operation has been necessary on vitally important issues," the statement read.

The president also thanked the Cuban people for their courage during his recuperation.

Speculation about President Castro's medical condition has been rife.

Although Mr Castro's health is a state secret, Cuban officials have said that he is not suffering from cancer or any terminal illness, and that he is recuperating.